


Hatsuhinode

by brightpinkballerina



Series: Family Matters [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Future Fic, Hope, Married Couple, New Years, Reflection, Sunrises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28484670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightpinkballerina/pseuds/brightpinkballerina
Summary: Every year growing up, Ash would watch the first sunrise of the year with his mother. Now that he's an adult, there's someone else very special to Ash for him to watch it with...even if it takes a little bit of convincing.
Relationships: Kasumi | Misty/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Family Matters [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785139
Kudos: 9





	Hatsuhinode

**Author's Note:**

> When it came to writing my first one shot of the new year, I wanted to do something that felt special. So, I looked into some different traditions that are used to celebrate the New Year in Japan. 
> 
> One of the most interesting ones I came across was _hatsuhinode_ ; the first sunrise of the year. This tradition involves watching the very first sunrise of the new year: not only to serve as a time of reflection, but also to inspire hope and renewal in the coming year. I thought this was particularly beautiful, especially after the year we’ve all just experienced.
> 
> Naturally, I decided to use this tradition as the basis for my very first story of 2021. Please enjoy!

“I can’t believe you dragged my ass out of our nice, warm bed for this.”

Ash grinned cheekily at his irritated wife. “Come on, Mist, it’s not that early!”

Grumbling softly, Misty turned on the screen of her cell phone. “It’s 6:30 in the morning.”

“Yeah, and the twins usually wake us up much earlier than that.”

“But they didn’t today,” Misty groaned, throwing her head back. “I wanted to sleep in for once!”

Ash shook his head, but he still had that big, dumb smile on his face that Misty was beginning to want to knock off. “Sleeping in? Not on today of all days!” 

“I _easily_ could’ve,” Misty scoffed. Taking a quick glance around the room, Misty suddenly asked, “where are Pikachu and Vaporeon?”

“On baby guarding duty,” Ash chuckled. “They went in there last night and never came back out.”

“Lucky,” Misty grumbled. 

“Why’s that?” Ash inquired teasingly.

Misty shot Ash an annoyed look. He was _really_ testing her patience now. “Because they get to keep sleeping.”

“Yeah, but I already told you: we just _had_ to wake up early today!” Ash crowed.

Letting out an aggrieved puff of air, Misty reluctantly asked, “and why, today of all days, do we have to be up so early?”

Looking up towards the sky through their living room window, Ash responded, “we have to watch the sunrise.”

“I literally watch the sunrise _every morning_ thanks to our kids,” Misty reminded him. “What makes today so special?”

Ash gazed back over at her in disbelief. “It’s New Year’s Day!”

“I know that…so?”

“It’s the first sunrise of a new year,” Ash explained. “We’ve got a whole entire year ahead of us, and lots is going to happen. We’re always so busy, and I think sometimes we don’t always get to appreciate all of the little things. So, our very first memory of a brand-new year can be us sitting here together, in the peace and quiet, watching the sunrise. Don’t you think that’s a nice way to start things off?”

Although she was still annoyed that she was now standing in the dark living room instead of snoozing away in their bed, Misty couldn’t help but to smile at Ash. “Alright, fine. It _does_ sound nice.”

Clearly pleased that he had been able to convince Misty, Ash motioned his head for her to join him on the couch. Playfully rolling her eyes, she heeded his silent request and sat down practically on his lap, cuddled up against him. Misty wasn’t sure if that was _quite_ what Ash had been expecting, but he certainly didn’t seem to mind, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her even closer.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Misty fully prepared to fall back asleep against Ash. Between his warm embrace, the gentle beating of his heart punctuating the otherwise blissfully silent room…

“My mom and I used to do this every year when I was a kid.”

Regrettably, Misty’s eyes fluttered back open. She peered up at Ash and found that he was smirking at her, causing her to scowl. Clearly, he’d seen her beginning to doze off and had used that clever little comment to gently bring her back to consciousness. 

_I think I liked it better when he never had any idea what was going on._

“Really?” Misty asked, her voice heavy from the disrupted slumber. “Were you as excited then as you are now?”

“No,” Ash bluntly replied. “Actually, I probably complained more than you did.”

Misty slowly nodded. “That sounds about right.”

“You really never did this as a kid?” Ash questioned; his voice laced with surprise.

Misty shot him an incredulous look. “I grew up with my sisters for the most part. Do you really think they were waking up before the crack of dawn just so they could appreciate nature?”

“Fair,” Ash chuckled. “I mean, I never understood why my mom had to wake me up so early just to watch the sunrise either, especially after we spent the whole night before waiting up for midnight. I was always so exhausted! It almost felt like a punishment. But she would explain to me that doing this was a way for us to go into a new year with clear minds and big hopes. The older I got, the more I appreciated it, even if sleeping in _still_ sounded a little more enjoyable.”

“Do you still feel that way now by any chance?” Misty asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Ash replied without hesitation. “You know how much I appreciate a good night’s sleep! But now I’ve got a beautiful wife who I can snuggle and enjoy the sunrise with, so it’s pretty easy to get over that.”

“Oh, you’re good,” Misty muttered as Ash buried his nose in her bright red hair. “A few more of _those_ compliments and I might finally stop thinking about our bed.”

She could feel him smirk against her head before pulling his away. “You’re such a tease! But if that’s all it takes to get you to go along with it…”

Misty giggled and resumed looking out the window. She could see that the first rays of light were slowly appearing in the sky. “Does that mean you’ve been doing this little tradition the whole time we’ve known each other and you’ve just let me sleep through it?”

There was a long beat of silence, after which Ash quietly answered, “no.” He then went back to silence, Misty rolling her eyes up towards him as she waited for more. “I stopped doing it for a long time. Mostly because I just wasn’t able to drag myself out of bed the way Mom had always been able to, so especially being away from home on my journey, it was a whole lot easier to stay asleep. Actually, last year was the first time I’d done it in a really long time.”

“Last year?” Misty repeated, furrowing her brow. “I definitely don’t remember this last year.”

“Because I watched it by myself,” Ash chuckled.

Misty frowned. “Didn’t that make you sad? I know I gave you a hard time this morning, but you could’ve woken me up so you weren’t alone.”

Ash shook his head. “I wasn’t about to wake you up for that; not after everything you’d gone through with having the twins. It was too soon after. And honestly, it wasn’t so bad watching it on my own. It gave me time to reflect. At that point, I was feeling pretty down. My whole head was just full of all the bad things that had happened the year before. I couldn’t stop thinking about how difficult the pregnancy was, and the danger you and Michelle had been in. But when I was watching that first sunrise, it made me realize that I had let all of the negative stuff cloud all of the _good_ things from the year before. Like us getting married, finding out we were going to be parents, the twins actually being born and, despite everything you’d all gone through, coming out of it okay and all being able to be home together for the holidays as a family. It really snapped me out of that funk and convinced me I had to start being more appreciative of the positives instead of focusing on the negatives. And all of a sudden, everything Mom had told me about watching the first sunrise of the year when I was a kid started to make sense.”

Misty’s eyes widened. _That_ was why Ash had been so quiet. He always did that whenever he was thinking, especially when it came to things he _really_ wanted to say and get just right. Misty’s smile returned; she had always found that to be very sweet. And, as he’d just proven, it also tended to work wonders for him.

“You are so adorable,” Misty sighed. “And you also make a good point! So, I think we should do the same thing right now.”

“What’s that?” Ash asked.

Misty smirked and shook her head. He lost it as quickly as he got it. “Reflect on all of the good things from last year! Like…how much the twins have grown! They’ve learned how to smile, laugh, sit up, crawl, eat solid food, pull themselves up, say a word or two…not to mention they’re both pretty much sleeping through the night now, which is a real blessing!”

Ash was now sporting his own massive grin. “They really have grown up a whole lot! And to think this time last year, they were still tiny little things that weren’t even a month old. Now they’ve already had their first birthday!”

“And, most importantly, they’re both happy and healthy,” Misty added, her eyes sparkling. “Last New Year’s, that’s all I could’ve wanted. It’s such a relief to not have to take Michelle to the doctor so often anymore to check on her breathing, and to watch both babies hit their milestones. Especially Aiden, who seems ready to start running before he even walks!”

Joining in laughing with Misty, Ash hugged her just a little tighter. “You’re right; those are all really great things to remember! And I’m sure they’re going to grow even more this year. But you and I _also_ had a big milestone…remember?”

Misty arched her eyebrow. “You’re really asking me if I remember that it was our first wedding anniversary?”

“Yes, I am,” Ash laughed. “Just making sure!”

Scoffing, Misty assured him, “I would never forget that! I may be sleep deprived and exhausted most of the time, but my memory is still intact. Well…mostly.”

Ash couldn’t help but to laugh. “Honestly, I think your memory is still a heck of a lot better than mine! Even after having the kids.”

Misty giggled herself, but that quickly melted away once she saw her husband’s face become illuminated in gold. “Oh! Look!”

She whipped her head around to face the window once again, Ash following suit. The sun had just started to rise, barely peeking up above the horizon as the sky began to turn an array of beautiful colors: deep purple blending into a candy pink into a hazy yellow, with not a single cloud in sight. Misty wasn’t sure if it was because of the conversation she and Ash had just had, but she was almost positive this was the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen.

“It’s nice, right?” Ash asked, as though he had read her mind.

“Mmhm,” Misty intoned, unable to tear her eyes away from the window. “Definitely the perfect way to start a new year.”

“I’m glad you think so!” Ash crowed. “Thanks for humoring me, Mist. Ready to go back to bed? We should be able to get a _little_ more sleep before Aiden and Michelle wake up.”

“Hold on,” Misty calmly urged, grabbing onto the sleeve of Ash’s t-shirt. “I think I want to watch the sunrise just a little longer.”

“You do?” Ash questioned; surprise evident in his voice.

Misty nodded, finally turning her attention back onto Ash. “You can still go back to bed if you want! I’m sure you’re tired, too.”

“Just a little,” Ash murmured. “But I’d much rather stay here with you.” When Misty inclined her head, he continued, “It’s fine watching the sunrise on your own, but it’s a whole lot better to watch it with someone who you really care about.”

Cooing, Misty turned her body and pressed her lips squarely against Ash’s, initiating a deep and passionate kiss that was quite an achievement for her so early in the morning.

Ash, of course, knew this, and also knew he must’ve done something very right to get that reaction out of her. And so, he wasted no time in returning her show of affection, somehow finding a way to pull Misty even closer to him than he had before.

And behind them, beyond their living room window, the sun continued to rise, shining a bright light on the year that lie ahead of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I particularly enjoyed writing this story, because it made me reflect on the past year for myself as well. Just as Ash said, there were definitely a lot of negatives, but it’s also very important to remember the good things as well, which can still happen even in times of real struggle and hardship but might be harder for us to recognize at first glance. I hope this story has inspired you all as well, and that you have a happy and healthy New Year!


End file.
